The Case for Disney's The Hunchback of Notre Dame

Just fell down the rabbit hole and I. Love. This. One. Also, when I was eight or nine I used to sing, "Hellfire," in the shower (except the Confiteor part, I didn't know it was Latin OR RELEVANT TO THE PLOT, I thought they were just made up noises) and my poor mother must have almost bitten her tongue off.

Eileen Nguyen

This is one of my favorite videos you've ever done. I love how deep you get into the history, and it's presented in a very engaging way!

Jacqueline Pineda

This week I made a cake for the one I love, and her bf was like "Thanks that was very nice of you." And it's like, yea I know I made extra effort cos...forget it, it's fine. It's fine. I'm fine.

Seeing the "Hunchback bootleg" compilation at the end made me hope for a Phelous/Lindsay crossover.

The phrase "human flower crown Tom Hulce" has irrevocably changed how I listen to this soundtrack.

Meg Galuardi

Could Judge Frollo be Quasimodo's biological father? We all know that Frollo has a pretty big fetish for the Romani women and compared to the rest of the Romani, Quasi is pretty much pure Caucasian. Even the woman who may have been Quasi's mother runs like hell from Frollo, either that she was raped by Frollo or knew someone raped by him. That subtext does make the movie more complex than it already is, due to how instead of the original story's "baby stealing gypsies" is replaced by the more historical government abducting children from the marginalized minorities "for the greater good".

Matt Eldritch

This might be one of your best ever episodes. So entertaining, insightful, and incredibly well-researched.

JordanL

Love~

1

This is FASCINATING. Having all this context into the original story and the adaptations in between really makes a huge difference in my understanding and appreciation for the Disney movie. The tonal dissonance you've referenced so many times has put me off the movie at pretty much every point in my life up til now, but I feel like this video might help me be able to reconcile even so disparate a product. It's a real pity the gargoyles were such a distraction; I DO think the movie had to be lightened up--no movie can maintain that high-melodrama feel of the best scenes for an entire 90-minute runtime--but I wish they had been able to do it in a better way. But despite that, you make some really great points about the way things came together for it. I'm going to have to rewatch it soon and see how it goes over. Thank you, Lindsay :)

Luninareph

Your little asides on love and relationships in these recent videos are just the sweetest thing in the world. And at the same time they pull no punches about acknowledging the hard lessons. I played scrabble with a pretty girl in a dank bar last night, a Wednesday. She beat me. I don't know whether this shall go anywhere, but either way I'm sure it'll be...fine. I know getting the girl isn't the thing. No, really. Just fine. Just letting someone in. You're my "Dear Abbey". Money well spent.

This is my first video as a patron, and I have to say I'm happy it's one that gave me a whole new level of appreciation for this movie. It's kinda weird going from "okay, not favorite" movie from childhood to "Wow, these themes are really relevant now" in adulthood.

Thank you for another wonderful video! So many memories of this movie and the very mixed feelings it inspired. One thing it reminds me of is the way that Disney movie writing used to be very squarely aimed at children ("What do they have against people who are different, anyway?") with more grown-up jokes and asides thrown in to please the parents. Then at some point (maybe with Pixar & Toy Story?) the writing underwent this radical shift and seemed to be actively *targeting* grown-ups while still being accessible to children. It was really interesting to watch Inside Out (with Japanese subtitles) here in Tokyo--the dad in front of me was laughing at all the dialogue, while his child (who I'm guessing couldn't read) was just laughing at all the visual gags. For that reason watching Disney Renaissance movies is kind of an odd experience for me, because while they're still really well-made films they also feel very much like movies for children, while the Pixar movies and even Frozen feel more geared toward adults (though the writing in Frozen also felt like a throwback to more kid-targeted stories).

Lindsay Nelson

Great video as usual! As a self employed person who has made overseas trips that I can legitimately take as tax writeoffs I commend you on finding a solid work related reason to spend a week in France!

Kyle Williams

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wine then soda pop.

Galen Thurber

I was never interested in seeing Hunchback before, but watched it for the first time a couple days ago in anticipation of this essay. And uh... HOLY CRAP, hellfire is one of the most disturbing things I can recall seeing in film in general. I feel like it should maybe be required viewing for adolescent males (maybe part of health class in high school or something)? Like: "Here are your feelings, (which are natural and nothing to be ashamed of on their own), and now here are some examples (starting with Frollo) where in each case a man reacts very badly to his feelings (in particular, wanting to blame &amp; punish a woman for his own horniness)." I should have watched this a long time ago, but for many years, I was operating on a bias where I thought "Disney == saccharine nonsense". Clearly this is not always true! Another insightful essay as usual. Thanks Lindsay!

I love this movie, and I have since I saw it in the theater. But I've always imagined this amazing alternate reality version where they went all out and didn't include the comedy relief gargoyles. If the movie maintained the tone of the opening sequence and the other more serious parts it would be a masterpiece. In any case the soundtrack is one of my favorites from a Disney movie.

Allan Liebold

I wouldn't call it repression, more like the experience of making Loose Canon benefited this video a great deal.

De

you can really see the Loose Canon repression seeping through

Is Frollo the best Disney villain? Maybe. I think you're absolutely right in that his motives was more mature in nature than any previous Disney film.

This is fine. He's fine. It's fine.

Kris Lee

I missed out on this movie as a kid (my parents thought it looked dumb, thanks Disney marketing team) but watched it all the time when I finally discovered it as a teen. Fantastic work, Lindsey! Love the discussion on the nature of adaption and cultural shift and how that changes how we view certain works of art! Hunchback's tone problems will always bother me, but it's definitely one of those movies where the good really outshines the bad.

Tennelle Flowers

Hunchback has always been my favorite movie, and I've always been so upset when people dismissed it wholesale for the Gargoyles and the general doofiness- I feel so vindicated!

Jack Edgar

This was honest to God my favorite movie when I was a kid. I had 3 copies of it on VHS, and they all broke because I watched them so much! Thank you for this review, Lindsay!

mopret

Can we get a video of just a straight up Roger Moses discussion? Because he is so awful and I enjoy people ragging on him.

Jay

Cool

I hope we get the full Robert Moses rant as a bonus! 8)

Matt Keeley

you're so overexposed it's searing my retinas.

I sincerely hope "I got a fur wedgie" joins Lindsey's pantheon of insta-laugh disney clips alongside "See how I glitter" and "I'm losin' to a bird!"

Gordon Freischlad

I greatly enjoyed that. Odd note, the exposure on your camera changed at some point (and then changed back assuming this was shot in chonological order, which it may not have been), or perhaps it was a lighting issue. Compare 0:01 (where your skin is nearly white) with 22:18. Personally, I prefer the 22:18 lighting.

Kurt Yost

That was a stunning essay! Congratulations!

Jenna Pateman

I hope to someday see a "The case against Disney's Treasure Planet." There seems to be some contempt for it and I'd love to see a great intellectual review on it some day.

This is gonna make my entire freaking week.

Marty Farley